In the News
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January 20, 2026
“It’s a strategy to produce this addictive behavior, like infinite scrolling, where you just can’t put it down,” said Webb Keane, professor of anthropology, who considers AI sycophancy — when large language models ceaselessly agree with users’ versions of the truth — to be a “dark pattern,” a deceptive design choice that manipulates users for profit by making unsubscribe links hard to find and hiding buy buttons.
TIME -
January 20, 2026
“There’s a lot of kerfuffle about (the new dietary) guidelines this year, (but) by and large, the guidelines haven’t changed. I do think there’s one point of inconsistency that might be confusing to folks,” said Jennifer Garner, assistant professor of nutritional sciences. “When you look at the new triangle, it is prioritizing … sources of red meat, fats, cheeses … that contain higher amounts of saturated fat, which we know, scientifically, contributes to risk of cardiovascular disease.”
WDIV Detroit -
January 20, 2026
“Martin Luther King Jr. understood that the power of education is the ability to teach a person to think critically. … This is why the Trump administration, like other authoritarian administrations across the world, target universities,” wrote Kevin Cokley, professor of psychology. “In the current political climate of authoritarianism, it is more important than ever for faculty to be brave and speak out against injustice and governmental assaults on academic freedom and freedom of speech.”
The EDU Ledger -
January 19, 2026
“Attempting to criminalize the conduct of monetary policy is an outrage. Every American should oppose this. Bad economics. Bad politics. Bad for the rule of law. Bad for markets,” said Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy, about the Department of Justice investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding the renovation of historic office buildings — a move that many believe takes aim at the independence of the Fed.
CNN -
January 19, 2026
“As educators, we have witnessed the extraordinary impact arts education has on student mental health and well-being,” co-wrote M. Candace Christensen, associate professor of social work. “Arts programming provides students with creative outlets for processing trauma, with tools for emotional expression and with affirming communities. Decades of research shows that students involved in arts programs have less anxiety, manage stress better and have stronger social connections.”
The Salt Lake Tribune -
January 19, 2026
“Unfortunately, the 2025 U.S. emission increase is likely a harbinger of what’s to come as the U.S. federal leadership continues to make what amounts to a huge unforced economic error by favoring legacy fossil fuels when the rest of the world is going all in on mobility and power generation using low-carbon technology, primarily based on renewables and batteries,” said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability.
The Associated Press -
January 16, 2026
“President Trump is so desperate to gain control of the Fed that he’s yet again weaponizing federal law enforcement to try to take out his political enemies,” said Jeremy Kress, associate professor of business law, about Trump’s threats against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who directly accused the president of wielding a criminal investigation as part of his pressure campaign for lower interest rates.
Newsweek -
January 16, 2026
“Several aspects of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines are poised to promote healthy diets and reduce disease risk. However, advocating consumption of red meat and high-fat dairy food without specific guidelines for portion size and servings can easily counter consumers’ efforts to simultaneously keep energy intake from saturated fats below 10%,” said Karen Peterson, professor of nutritional sciences and associate director of the Michigan Nutrition and Obesity Research Center.
Detroit Free Press -
January 16, 2026
“It’s ironic, right? You’re acquiring land that your colonizer probably took from you a long time ago and then gave it away to or sold it to someone else, and then years later, you’re buying that land back that was taken from you illegally, at a great expense,” said Matthew Fletcher, professor of law, after President Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee tribal land and environmental stewardship in the Florida Everglades because the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center.
Grist -
January 15, 2026
David Blaauw, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his lab created the minuscule onboard computer that permits the world’s smallest robots — smaller than a grain of salt — to be programmed by light pulses to respond autonomously to their environment. “We designed a special computer instruction that encodes a value, such as the measured temperature, in the wiggles of a little dance the robot performs. We then look at this dance through a microscope with a camera and decode from the wiggles what the robots are saying to us,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal
